Spurs Nation

“I don't think it's that big a deal, really,” Popovich said. “We mix and match for a variety of reasons throughout the year. Then, towards playoffs, we try to nail it down a little more.”

When a team returns 12 players from a roster that came within 28.2 seconds of winning a championship, camp is hardly the time to institute an overhaul.

Most of the issues that passed for preseason intrigue over the past four weeks remain unresolved, to be reassessed — and reassessed some more — throughout the six-month grind of the regular season:

Who is the backup quarterback?

For the second consecutive year, the Spurs head into the regular season without a clear-cut No. 2 point guard behind Parker.

Third-year guard Cory Joseph solidly filled the role throughout the playoffs last season and has been perfectly adequate this preseason.

Patty Mills, who is entering his fifth season, is more of an offensive-oriented option. At 10 points per game, he was the Spurs' highest-scoring bench player during the preseason.

A third candidate for the job, second-year man Nando De Colo, struggled through a preseason in which he shot 30.3 percent.

Given his druthers, Popovich would prefer a fourth candidate.

“I wish John Stockton was our backup point guard, if you're asking what I'd really want,” Popovich said, “but that doesn't make a whole lot of sense.”

Who's got Kawhi Leonard's back?

The Spurs' enduring quest for a backup to Leonard at small forward chewed up and spit out Corey Maggette and Sam Young during the preseason.

Josh Howard was signed and waived and is likely Development League-bound.

As such, the Spurs will start the new season in much the same manner they navigated the playoffs last season — with Popovich mixing and matching a backup small forward from a collection of players ranging from the oversized Boris Diaw (6-foot-9) to the undersized Danny Green, newcomer Marco Belinelli and even Ginobili.

“I think on the wings, we're going to be OK,” Ginobili said. “We have four players to share the minutes that we have. We know (Leonard) is going to be the one who plays the most, the only one probably 30-plus. Then we're going to share between 22 and 28 minutes.”

With some flexibility in their roster, however, expect the Spurs to remain in the market for a veteran reinforcement on the wing throughout the season.

How go the new guys?

Both of the Spurs' offseason free-agent additions — Belinelli and forward Jeff Ayres — have a chance to crack the rotation.

Coaches have been particularly impressed with Belinelli, a multi-skilled off-guard who averaged 9.9 points and hit 11 of 22 3-pointers during the preseason.

An athletic energy player, the 6-foot-9 Ayres averaged 5.3 points and 3.7 rebounds in his inaugural Spurs preseason. His role could largely be determined by the speed at which he picks up the system.

“He's doing exactly the role Pop has given him, which is just to hustle and get rebounds,” Diaw said.

However the Spurs ultimately answer their lingering preseason questions, one thing is clear.

Like 29 other teams on the cusp of a new season, they remain a work in progress.

“We're nowhere near where we want to be,” Green said. “Where we want to be our best is in March, when it's time.”